Wednesday, May 19. 2010

One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me -- such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.

PURPORT

Coming again to the point of pure devotional service, the Lord is describing the transcendental qualifications of a pure devotee in these two verses. A pure devotee is never disturbed in any circumstances. Nor is he envious of anyone. Nor does a devotee become his enemy's enemy; he thinks, "This person is acting as my enemy due to my own past misdeeds. So it is better to suffer than to protest." In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.8) it is stated: tat te 'nukampam susamikshamano bhunjana evatma-kritam vipakam. Whenever a devotee is in distress or has fallen into difficulty, he thinks that it is the Lord's mercy upon him. He thinks, "Thanks to my past misdeeds I should suffer far, far greater than I am suffering now. So it is by the mercy of the Supreme Lord that I am not getting all the punishment I am due. I am just getting a little, by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Therefore he is always calm, quiet and patient, despite many distressful conditions. A devotee is also always kind to everyone, even to his enemy. Nirmama means that a devotee does not attach much importance to the pains and trouble pertaining to the body because he knows perfectly well that he is not the material body. He does not identify with the body; therefore he is freed from the conception of false ego and is equipoised in happiness and distress. He is tolerant, and he is satisfied with whatever comes by the grace of the Supreme Lord. He does not endeavor much to achieve something with great difficulty; therefore he is always joyful. He is a completely perfect mystic because he is fixed in the instructions received from the spiritual master, and because his senses are controlled he is determined. He is not swayed by false arguments, because no one can lead him from the fixed determination of devotional service. He is fully conscious that Krishna is the eternal Lord, so no one can disturb him. All these qualifications enable him to fix his mind and intelligence entirely on the Supreme Lord. Such a standard of devotional service is undoubtedly very rare, but a devotee becomes situated in that stage by following the regulative principles of devotional service. Furthermore, the Lord says that such a devotee is very dear to Him, for the Lord is always pleased with all his activities in full Krishna consciousness.

Friday, May 14. 2010

SB 9.6.4: The son of Manu was Iks?vaku. When Manu was sneezing, Iks?vaku was born from Manu's nostrils. King Iks?vaku had one hundred sons, of whom Vikuks?i, Nimi and Dan?d?aka were the most prominent.

SB 9.6.5: Of the one hundred sons, twenty-five became kings in the western side of Aryavarta, a place between the Himalaya and Vindhya mountains. Another twenty-five sons became kings in the east of Aryavarta, and the three principal sons became kings in the middle. The other sons became kings in various other places.

SB 9.6.6: During the months of January, February and March, oblations offered to the forefathers are called as?t?aka-sraddha. The sraddha ceremony is held during the dark fortnight of the month. When Maharaja Iks?vaku was performing his oblations in this ceremony, he ordered his son Vikuks?i to go immediately to the forest to bring some pure flesh.

SB 9.6.7: Thereafter, Iks?vaku's son Vikuks?i went to the forest and killed many animals suitable for being offered as oblations. But when fatigued and hungry he became forgetful and ate a rabbit he had killed.

SB 9.6.8: Vikuks?i offered the remnants of the flesh to King Iks?vaku, who gave it to Vasis?t?ha for purification. But Vasis?t?ha could immediately understand that part of the flesh had already been taken by Vikuks?i, and therefore he said that it was unfit to be used in the sraddha ceremony.

SB 9.6.9: When King Iks?vaku, thus informed by Vasis?t?ha, understood what his son Vikuks?i had done, he was extremely angry. Thus he ordered Vikuks?i to leave the country because Vikuks?i had violated the regulative principles.

SB 9.6.10: Having been instructed by the great and learned brahman?a Vasis?t?ha, who discoursed about the Absolute Truth, Maharaja Iks?vaku became renounced. By following the principles for a yogi, he certainly achieved the supreme perfection after giving up his material body.

SB 9.6.11: After his father's disappearance, Vikuks?i returned to the country and thus became the king, ruling the planet earth and performing various sacrifices to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vikuks?i later became celebrated as Sasada.

SB 9.6.12: The son of Sasada was Purañjaya, who is also known as Indravaha and sometimes as Kakutstha. Please hear from me how he received different names for different activities.

SB 9.6.13: Formerly, there was a devastating war between the demigods and the demons. The demigods, having been defeated, accepted Purañjaya as their assistant and then conquered the demons. Therefore this hero is known as Purañjaya, "he who conquered the residence of the demons."

SB 9.6.14: Purañjaya agreed to kill all the demons, on the condition that Indra would be his carrier. Because of pride, Indra could not accept this proposal, but later, by the order of the Supreme Lord, Vis?n?u, Indra did accept it and became a great bull carrier for Purañjaya.

SB 9.6.15-16: Well protected by armor and desiring to fight, Purañjaya took up a transcendental bow and very sharp arrows, and, while being highly praised by the demigods, he got up on the back of the bull [Indra] and sat on its hump. Thus he is known as Kakutstha. Being empowered by Lord Vis?n?u, who is the Supersoul and the Supreme Person, Purañjaya sat on the great bull and is therefore known as Indravaha. Surrounded by the demigods, he attacked the residence of the demons in the west.

SB 9.6.17: There was a fierce battle between the demons and Purañjaya. Indeed, it was so fierce that when one hears about it one's hairs stand on end. All the demons bold enough to come before Purañjaya were immediately sent to the residence of Yamaraja by his arrows.

SB 9.6.18: To save themselves from the blazing arrows of Indravaha, which resembled the flames of devastation at the end of the millennium, the demons who remained when the rest of their army was killed fled very quickly to their respective homes.

SB 9.6.19: After conquering the enemy, the saintly king Purañjaya gave everything, including the enemy's riches and wives, to Indra, who carries a thunderbolt. For this he is celebrated as Purañjaya. Thus Purañjaya is known by different names because of his different activities.

SB 9.6.20: The son of Purañjaya was known as Anena, Anena's son was Pr?thu, and Pr?thu's son was Visvagandhi. Visvagandhi's son was Candra, and Candra's son was Yuvanasva.

SB 9.6.21: The son of Yuvanasva was Sravasta, who constructed a township known as Sravasti Puri. The son of Sravasta was Br?hadasva, and his son was Kuvalayasva. In this way the dynasty increased.

SB 9.6.22: To satisfy the sage Utanka, the greatly powerful Kuvalayasva killed a demon named Dhundhu. He did this with the assistance of his twenty-one thousand sons.

SB 9.6.23-24: O Maharaja Pariks?it, for this reason Kuvalayasva is celebrated as Dhundhumara ["the killer of Dhundhu"]. All but three of his sons, however, were burned to ashes by the fire emanating from Dhundhu's mouth. The remaining sons were Dr?d?hasva, Kapilasva and Bhadrasva. From Dr?d?hasva came a son named Haryasva, whose son is celebrated as Nikumbha.

SB 9.6.25: The son of Nikumbha was Bahulasva, the son of Bahulasva was Kr?sasva, the son of Kr?sasva was Senajit, and the son of Senajit was Yuvanasva. Yuvanasva had no sons, and thus he retired from family life and went to the forest.

SB 9.6.26: Although Yuvanasva went into the forest with his one hundred wives, all of them were very morose. The sages in the forest, however, being very kind to the King, began very carefully and attentively performing an Indra-yajña so that the King might have a son.

Friday, June 13. 2008

Lecture given by Gunagrahi dasa Goswami on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 7, Chapter 10, Texts 36-38. The video starts with about 2min 30sec of the end of Guru Puja kirtan. The lecture covers preaching in ways that attract people to Krishna Consciousness. Some devotees share their initial reaction to meeting the devotees for the first time.

The audio of the other speakers is a bit quiet. I did my best to increase the volume, but it is still hard to hear. You may wish to listen with headphones to hear those sections better.

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 7.10.36

TRANSLATION

Being cursed by the brahmanas, the same two associates took birth again as Kumbhakarna and the ten-headed Ravana. These two Rakshasas were killed by Lord Ramacandra's extraordinary power.

Text 37

TRANSLATION

Pierced by the arrows of Lord Ramacandra, both Kumbhakarna and Ravana lay on the ground and left their bodies, fully absorbed in thought of the Lord, just as they had in their previous births as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu.

Text 38

TRANSLATION

They both took birth again in human society as Sisupala and Dantavakra and continued in the same enmity toward the Lord. It is they who merged into the body of the Lord in your presence.